KINGSTON, Jamaica – Bearing a cross with a Bible attached, firefighter sergeant Leo Bennett once again staged a one-man protest in Half-Way-Tree, claiming that Jamaicans are “being sacrificed”.

“Everyone else is afraid. Remember that I’m being cursed because whenever you protest, members are placed on indefinite suspension. Most firefighters are ghetto people children, poor people children. They cannot afford to lose the money. I’m taking one for the team,” Bennett said on Thursday.

“You know I’m not the sacrificial lamb, but Jamaica is being sacrificed…When they don’t give us better welfare, we can’t better serve the nation. You notice the Jamaica flag; I didn’t carry the Jamaica Fire Brigade flag because Jamaica as a whole is being sacrificed for the ego, the inefficiency of the management and the Government,” Bennett said, adding that the cross and Bible are not indicative of Easter, but signifies the burden the country is currently facing.

Outlining a list of demands against the background of alleged ill-treatment of Jamaica Fire Brigade staff, whose welfare he said are being ignored, Bennett climbed atop the Transport Centre in Half-Way-Tree on Tuesday, March 14 to stage a one-man protest.

READ: WATCH: Militant firefighter lists demands amid protest atop HWT Transport Centre

He added that he will end his protests when a more flexible schedule is implemented for workers, noting that firefighters are working shifts every day and have no time to adequately balance their jobs and their lives. As such, he is pleading with the management of the Brigade to offer time off for workers.

“The Jamaica Fire Brigade members, we have a system of work which we must be at work every day of our lives. It is terrible. What we are asking the management for is a work system in which we can get some time off and work-life balance,” he said.

READ: WATCH: Firefighter ends protest on HWT Transport Centre

In May of last year, Bennett was among placard-bearing firefighters who demonstrated outside the Ministry of Labour and Social Security at National Heroes Circle in Kingston. Bennett confirmed that he and six other members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade were suspended for their actions.